With high density Lion batteries long range the public wouldn't know the
difference if we called it a fuel cell and said it was refueled electricly.
George W probably wouldn't know the difference. Think we could get a
hundred buyers. Lawrence Rhodes...
US Co. (Rhode Island) seeks UK / worldwide partners, clients, government
support etc. for its new generation of low-cost, ultra-long-range Lithium
batteries. (April, 2002)
-Range: over 200 miles per charge. Quick 80% recharge in under 1 hour.
-Battery life: up to 200,000 miles - the life of the car.
-Cost : $5000-$7000 per EV battery-pack at 100 pack production volume BUT
just $4000(!) per pack with large-scale production volumes.
- Stephen Eaves of Eaves Devices Inc. (Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
recently contacted EVUK in its efforts to bring its latest generation of
low-cost long-range Lithium Ion batteries to the attention of all those
involved in manufacturing, designing and promoting electric vehicles here in
the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
The following is an extract from recent correspondence with Stephen Eaves of
Eaves Devices Inc.:
" I am the president of a start-up company - Eaves Devices Inc.- of Rhode
Island, USA. We have a technique for producing large Lithium-ion battery
packs at greatly reduced cost. However, it is still quite difficult to write
a convincing business plan here in the USA for a technology that would
replace combustion engine vehicles, when gasoline sells for $1.29/Gallon.
We hope that we might have better luck if we created a business model that
included the European market.
>From the information on your website, the UK looks very promising.
As you may know, one important factor when considering the battery service
life of long range EVs (200-400 mile range) is that daily battery depth of
discharge is quite low. For example the operator may make a daily commute of
40 Miles, where the car has a total range of say 200 miles. Under these
conditions, if the operator recharges every night, our Li-ion batteries
would obtain 5,000 to 7,000 charge cycles, making the service life of the
battery over 200,000 miles total. This is distinctly different from previous
life cycle cost studies on lead-acid EVs where the battery is almost fully
discharged every day of use. In these studies, the battery replacement costs
cancel the fuel savings and maintenance benefits of an EV. In our life cycle
analysis, the battery would last the life of the car, and there is strong
evidence that the car would require much less maintenance and last longer
than an ICE vehicle.
Also, we are preparing to do a long range electric vehicle demonstration on
our own Solectria Force EV. With the right contacts, we think we could do
the demonstration in the UK as well as the US. Preferably this would be done
in partnership with an electric vehicle producer that would also benefit
from the publicity. At 144Wh/kg our batteries could easily make a 200-400
Mile range, depending on the accommodations of the base vehicle. If you know
of some EV companies approaching the UK market, and if you would like to see
a long range EV demonstration in your area, we would be quite thankful for
any contacts or information that you could provide.
It is more difficult to get funding here for battery EVs because of the
Freedom Car Program that has diverted much of the resources to Fuel Cells.
We have detailed research that shows why battery electrics are a much better
choice for the environment. The US automakers and oil companies are almost
one in the same, and the source of hydrogen for the fuel cell vehicles is
scheduled to come from fossil fuels. Based on Department of Energy studies,
the total efficiency when converting and transferring energy from a
renewable source, such as a wind generator, to the wheels of a battery
electric vehicle is more than 300% higher than if the energy is being
converted to hydrogen for a fuel cell vehicle. The UK has a very promising
future with wind and wave energy - you are certainly on the right track with
battery electric vehicles!"
Stephen Eaves (Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED])
President
Eaves Devices Inc.
Charlestown, RI, 02813
USA
Phone 401-364-2061
Fax 401-364-3803 (Note: an Eaves Devices Inc. website is currently in
construction)
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